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Sd.Kfz.234 Puma
The Sd.Kfz. 234 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234, Special Purpose Vehicle 234), was a family of armoured cars designed and built in Germany during World War II. The vehicles were lightly armoured, armed with a 20, 50 or 75 mm main gun, and powered by a Tatra V12 diesel engine. The Sd.Kfz. 234 broadly resembles the appearance of Sd.Kfz. 231 (8 rad). Overview The Sd Kfz 234 was designed as a replacement to the earlier Sd Kfz 231 and 232 eight-wheeled armoured cars. The Sd Kfz 234/2 "Puma” was the first variant produced and was armed with a 5cm KwK 39/1 L/60 and co-ax 7.92mm MG in a fully enclosed turret. It weighed 11.74 tons. Its gun could sometimes get the crew into trouble, the crew being tempted to engage the enemy rather than breaking off. 101 were produced. Production began in September 1943 and was halted in September 1944 when it was replaced by the other variants (Sd Kfz 234/1 2cm, Sd Kfz 234/3 7.5cm KwK, and Sd Kfz 234/4 7.5cm PaK40). The Sd Kfz 234/1 was fitted with a 2cm KwK 38 L/55 gun and co-ax 7.92mm MG34 machine gun in a six-sided open turret similar to that fitted to the Sd Kfz 222. The open turret was protected from grenades by a mesh-covered frame turret covers. 200 of this variant were produced from June 1944. All eight wheels were both driven and steered and the Sd Kfz 234s had more armour and armament than any other German armoured car that had come before. The Sd Kfz 234 was designed as a replacement to the earlier Sd Kfz 231/232 eight-wheeled armoured cars. They were capable of speeds up to 85 km/h (53 mph) and could cross the roughest terrain. In Flames of War The Sd.Kfz. 234 are the latest generation of German armoured cars used during World War II. All the variants have front armour 3, side armour 1 and top armour 0, cross terrain obstacles on 4+ and are Hit On 4+. There are four available variants: *Sd.Kfz.234/1 with 2 cm gun and machineguns, which has the ability to fight enemy aircraft as a self-defense AA gun; *Sd.Kfz.234/2 with 5cm gun, the same as in Panzer IIIL ; *Sd.Kfz.234/3 with short-barreled 75mm gun, the same as early Panzer IV and Panzer IIIN tanks use; *Sd.Kfz. 234/4 with the 7.5 cm anti-tank gun. In the Third Edition, the crews were rated Confident Veteran. Fortress Europe ''re-introduced them in the Fourth Edition as Reluctant Veterans. Older edition allowed to field two-car section as a Formation Support. A few books for the Late War period allow deploying companies with the Sd.Kfz.234 as their primary component. ''Fortress Europe reintroduced those - either as an infantry scout company or as Puma Scout Company (see the Command Card). Model kits * GE361 (one metal and resin model with Sd.Kfz. 234/2 and 234/1 turret options) * GBX89 Puma Panzerspaeh Platoon (six plastic Sd.Kfz 234 armoured cars with various weapon options, five German tank crew sprues, and a decal sheet) * GBX172 (four plastic models with crew sprues, decals, and Unit Cards) * GSO211 Plastic Puma Sprue (online order only single plastic model kit) * TANKS27 Puma Tank Expansion (a single model with TANKS unit cards and upgrade cards) Model assembly The metal and resin kits The GE361 comes with two interchangeable turret options, allowing to deploy either the 2cm gun version or the 5cm gun version. * Attach the four sets of wheels to the resin Sd Kfz 234 hull. * To model the Sd Kfz 234/1, add the 2cm gun then attach the anti-grenade screen to the top of the turret. * To model the Sd Kfz 234/2, attach the commander and loader's hatch to the Sd. Kfz. 234/2 resin turret as well as the 5cm gun. It is possible to model the turret with both hatches opened. Plastic model kits The sprues allow building all the four production models. The 2cm and 5cm gun variants have interchangeable turrets. The Generic Hull * Start the assembly of the generic hull by joining the top and bottom halves of the hull together. * Next, attach the right-hand side wheel bogies followed by the left-hand-side wheel bogies. * Attach the bumper to the front of the hull. * Add the spare tire to the rear of the hull. * To complete assembly of the generic hull, attach the Jerry can stowage to each front fender. The 2cm gun variant * Attach the 2cm KwK 38 L/55 gun assembly to the inside of the turret. * Next, attach the grenade screen to the top of the turret. * Attach the Sd Kfz 234/1 (2cm) and (5cm) specific stowage bin to the side of the generic hull. * Attach the top deck to the top of the hull. * Use the turret peg or rare-earth magnets as a quick and easy way of attaching the turret to the hull. * Add the turret to the hull. The 5cm gun variant This model has the same stowage bins and the top deck as the 2cm variant. * Join the top and bottom sections of the turret. * Attach the main gun to the front of the turret. * Attach the hatch to the top of the turret. It can be modeled either opened or closed. * Add a commander figure of choice to the open turret hatch. * Use the turret peg or rare-earth magnets as a quick and easy way of attaching the turret to the hull. * Add the turret to the hull. Sd.Kfz. 234/3 * Attach the Sd Kfz 234/3 specific stowage bin to the side of the generic hull. * Attach the main gun to the hull superstructure. * Attach the coaxial machine-gun to the side of the main gun. * Add the main gun assembly to the generic hull. * Cut the desired crew figure off the resin sprue with a pair of side cutters or a hobby knife. The suggested crew figures to use with the Sd Kfz 234/3 (7.5cm) are the figure wear the helmet holding binoculars and the figure in the field cap without the shell. * Add the crew figure wearing the helmet to the inside of the fighting compartment of the Sd Kfz 234/3 (7.5cm). * Add the crew figure wearing the field cap to the inside of the fighting compartment of the Sd Kfz 234/3 (7.5cm). Sd.Kfz. 234/4 (The PaK-Wagen) * Attach the Sd Kfz 234/4 (PaK40) specific stowage bin to the side of the generic hull. * Attach the main gun to the hull superstructure. * Next, attach the gun shield to the 7.5cm PaK 40. * Followed by the AA machine-gun. * Add the main gun assembly to the generic hull. * Cut the desired crew figure off the resin sprue with a pair of side cutters. The suggested crew figures to use with the Sd Kfz 234/4 (PaK40) are the figure wear the helmet holding binoculars and the figure in the field cap holding the shell. * Add the crew figure wearing the helmet to the inside of the fighting compartment of the Sd Kfz 234/4 (PaK40). * Add the crew figure wearing the field cap to the inside of the fighting compartment of the Sd Kfz 234/4 (PaK40). GBX89-01.jpg|The plastic Puma sprue. GBX89.jpg|The GBX89 box front. GBX89-02.png|The GBX89 box rear. GBX172a.jpg|The GBX172 box front. GBX172-02.jpg|The GBX172 box rear. GBX89-04.jpg|The Puma crew figurines. They are found both in GBX89 and GBX172 boxes with the same marking. TANKS27-Cover.gif Painting The Sd.Kfz.234 appeared in the later period of war when the Germans commonly used camouflage patterns. The base colour was usually sand yellow, supplemented with green and brown spots, stripes or more intricate patterns. Suggested paints: Primer * Battlefront Panther Yellow * Humbrol H94 enamel * Army Painter Desert Yellow * any matt tone of black (wheel tyres) Camouflage: * medium or darker tones of green * darker tones of brown * Citadel Base Ceramite White (whitewash) * steel metalizer (for machineguns and exposed metal parts) Combat efficiency Being Scouts, the Pumas might remain Gone to the Ground while moving, on the condition they do not open fire at the enemy units, which makes them more difficult to hit. They are quite useful for expanding the deployment zone, due to their Spearhead Special Rule. In the current edition, this allows deploying friendly units 8 inches/20 centimetres from the Puma scout troop. All the Puma variants other than the 2cm model can engage enemy tanks with good chances of success, being a lethal threat to lighter vehicles and capable of harming medium tanks. They also perform fairly well against infantry. The 7.5 cm gun variants have decent chances in fighting dug-in enemy infantry and guns as well. Scout Company This formation allows deploying plenty of vehicles capable of fighting with the Sherman and the T-34 tanks for quite reasonable costs, with their own infantry component. The low unit cost allows fitting powerful support units or even another formation. The main drawback of this force is its poor Motivation, which means the Units are likely to fail Morale tests. They also perform worse in assaults than typical tanks or infantry - they hit in Assaults on 5+ and Counterattack on a roll 6. Support for other Formations Puma's primary task is to expand the deployment zone and capture objectives. They work well as a support for another formation, especially in tank battles. The Puma's poor Motivation is not such a drawback for a support unit, as long as the vehicles are used as backup, not as the main attack force. TANKS Due to its low point cost and good firepower, the Puma and the Pak-Wagen make good platoon fillers and support for heavier tanks. They are often a better alternative to Panzer III due to better speed and weapons. Image gallery GBX172-21.jpg PumaCard.png|The Puma Scout Company Command Card. Puma_company_00.png|Third Edition rules for the Scout Company. The basic organization scheme remains unaltered in "Fortress Europe". Puma_company_01.png Puma_company_02.png TankCard-Puma.gif|The TANKS unit card. TankCard-PakWagen.gif|The TANKS unit card for Pak-Wagen. Puma_05.JPG|The Pumas are being assembled back in 2017. Puma company.JPG|The Puma company assembled in 2017. Category:Vehicles Category:German Category:Late-war Category:Axis Category:Armoured Tanks Category:Tank Teams Category:Formations Category:Scout Category:Spearhead Category:Under Construction